had won re-election, and now they're pushing to to 13, after the fiscal cliff hits and they get blamed. it is an odd way to negotiate. to get one republican view on what will come next year, early this evening, shortly after the president's press conference, i had the privilege to speaking to republican senator tom coburn of oklahoma. senator, thank you so much for being here tonight. >> glad to be with you, ezra. >> it so seems to me the news of the day is the big deal is dead, completely dead, and we are down to either a small down, a mini deal, or going after the cliff straight. what is your reaction to this? >> i don't -- you know, i'm not sure that's true. just talking to my colleagues in the senate, i think the middle ground is pretty well known by everybody, and i think you could still get something that would be viewed by the ratings agencies as well as the american public as a pretty good solution. so i think it's possible. i don't know that that will happen. it's unfortunate that we're waiting until this late in the hour to try to accomplish something. >> so, then, what do yo